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Atlas for Libertarians

If you are a Libertarian and you have not read Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand, you need to stop what you are doing right now and get a copy of this prophetic book.

For all of you Libertarians who have read Atlas Shrugged, you need to go to Amazon right now and order a copy of Atlas Snubbed by Ken V. Krawchuk. Here is my review of this sequel to Atlas Shrugged;

When I speak of Ayn Rand’s “Atlas Shrugged”, I usually refer first to the political and philosophical lessons to be learned from it, with the fact that it is also an entertaining book as a secondary thought. I must say that Mr. Krawchuk’s “Atlas Snubbed” is foremost an enjoyably entertaining read, which also gives us much to think about pertaining to politics and philosophy. Bravo, Mr. Krawchuk!

Had Ms. Rand’s original lessons been heeded, her words would not have become prophetic, as they have for today. Mr. Krawchuk gives us pause to think about ways to deal with possible conclusion’s to Ms. Rand’s story. Having read Atlas Snubbed, I now prefer to want to work toward “Society’s according to the desires of the individual”.

Mr. Krawchuk effectively channels Ms. Rand’s style of story telling so well that one can begin reading Atlas Snubbed immediately after finishing Alas Shrugged as comfortably as if going from one chapter to the next of any well written novel. While the paradigm shift in philosophy will soon be noticed, the respectful adherence to the basic writing style of Ayn Rand prevents any uncomfortable feel that plagues so many sequels. Along with Ayn Rand’s style of writing, I also detect more then a few nods to Stephen King’s The Stand, adding to my personal enjoyment.

I appreciate that Atlas Snubbed is a book that I can safely recommend to anyone without having to first think about if it is going to be offensive to some due to language or detail. Atlas Snubbed, even the unabridged version that I was fortunate enough to read, moved at a pace that was just enough faster then Ms. Rand’s original to enhance my reading pleasure enough to match the changes in social times since Ms. Rand’s origins of the story line.

All in all, Atlas Snubbed is a fun, entertaining and thought provoking novel that would do well on everyone’s reading list.

For those who are not Libertarian, whether you be Republican, Democrat, Indepent or of no political interest at all, if you ever want to really understand the philosophical nuances of our political system, you need to have read these two books.

That's all. I don't expect any responces until you've read these books...

I have read numerous Ayn Rand books. I generally agree with her. She provides a solid basis for the free market system. She was a deep thinker. Don't expect liberals to even begin to understand her. You have to be interested in gaining an education in order to read and understand Ayn.

I have read numerous Ayn Rand books. I generally agree with her. She provides a solid basis for the free market system. She was a deep thinker. Don't expect liberals to even begin to understand her. You have to be interested in gaining an education in order to read and understand Ayn.

But liberals used to like Rand because she was an atheist and she lived a fairly liberal lifestyle. Even though Rand stated she was opposed to Libertarian ideals, she really was more Libertarian then anything else.

The sequel to Atlas Shrugged is written by a Libertarian who has run for several political offices as a Libertarian. Even so, the author of Atlas Snubbed does a great job of staying with Ayn Rand's general style of writing.

If you enjoyed Atlas Shrugged and feel you benefitted from it for it's political and societal messages, you will really enjoy the way Atlas Snubbed brings Ayn Rands story to relate to the atrocities that are going on today while still keeping the story in a 1950s setting where WWII never happened.

But as we know as one of the major causes of this mess was 20 years under the guidance of Greenspan's low interest rates,not enough reserves on hand,securitized loans with not enough deposits.

And now based on ever decreasing demand based on banks exposure to CDS and private debt the only thing is more M1.

Then give us your opinion on why the FRB does not publish the M3 aggregate.

And more M1 (and M2 and M3) equals more price inflation, which means we creep into a higher tax bracket.

NO, the solution is less govt regulation and more free markets. There is one more thing needed: REMOVE THE SAFETY NETS! Free markets work lots better if folks have to pay the price for their foolish financial decisions... as long as the govt bails out everyone from a drunk to a mega-bank (politics you know), we will have irresponsible economics.

As to why the FED quit publishing M3... IMO it is because they do not want folks to know how MUCH they are inflating the money supply. A friend who tracks this stuff found a formula online to more or less calculates M3... do you want to know what M3 is...

M3 is close to an annual rate of 20% (not a typo). And this has been going on for over 2 quarters now... by the election almost a year. IMO get ready for massive price inflation... thx to your friends in Wash DC, which we elected either because we thought there would be a free lunch, or because we were too lazy to vote.

But as we know as one of the major causes of this mess was 20 years under the guidance of Greenspan's low interest rates,not enough reserves on hand,securitized loans with not enough deposits.

And now based on ever decreasing demand based on banks exposure to CDS and private debt the only thing is more M1.

Then give us your opinion on why the FRB does not publish the M3 aggregate.

We are just discussing a fictional story that has some viable points about how we got to where we are. Atlas Shrugged is Ayn Rand's original book that takes us into a U.S. where Socialism has halted the economic and technilogical growth of the U.S. and how some of the industrialists choose to deal with being regulated to death. It was a story of prediction for the time it was written. We actually were able to temporarily avoid much of what Aym Rand predicted, maybe somewhat because books such as Atlas Shrugged allowed us a glimpse into a possible future.

The sequel to Atlas Shrugged is new. The author refers to it as a an unsanctioned pastiche parody, which is a bit redundant and I personally don't feel that other the title, that Atlas Snubbed is a parody as much as a tribute to Atlas Shrugged.

The bottom line to keep in mind with both of these books is that they are very entertaining works of fiction that just happen to have some cautions about how we allow government to intervene in our lives.

For fans of Atlas Shrugged, Atlas Snubbed will simply be a fun read that will twist the way they thought about the events of Atlas Shrugged. For those who have not read Atlas Shrugged, I highly suggest doing so for the most complete enjoyment of Atlas Snubbed. Atlas Snubbed is designed to stand alone with the background of Atlas Shrugged, but it won't be fun to read.

As for causes for today's economic failures, there is no single person or even organization or political party that can be solely blamed, and it did not happen only due to events over the past 20 years but rather the past 100 years. We all have to take some blame and responsibility for where we are or we are not going to be able to survive.

And more M1 (and M2 and M3) equals more price inflation, which means we creep into a higher tax bracket.

NO, the solution is less govt regulation and more free markets. There is one more thing needed: REMOVE THE SAFETY NETS! Free markets work lots better if folks have to pay the price for their foolish financial decisions... as long as the govt bails out everyone from a drunk to a mega-bank (politics you know), we will have irresponsible economics.

As to why the FED quit publishing M3... IMO it is because they do not want folks to know how MUCH they are inflating the money supply. A friend who tracks this stuff found a formula online to more or less calculates M3... do you want to know what M3 is...

M3 is close to an annual rate of 20% (not a typo). And this has been going on for over 2 quarters now... by the election almost a year. IMO get ready for massive price inflation... thx to your friends in Wash DC, which we elected either because we thought there would be a free lunch, or because we were too lazy to vote.

All of which scenarios are designed to address in Atlas Snubbed. Atlas Snubbed does not provide us with "a" solution, but rather several possible solutions depending on the attitude of the populaces in different areas of the country. As the scenarios put forth by Ayn Rand, Atlas Snubbed scenarios can be easily dismantled because they are more parables then blueprints for success. It is entertaining to read how what some perceive as perfection, others snub for one reason or another. Yet, with no central entity controlling how smaller, dependent entities function, there becomes an array of different ways of governing that suits a variety of different people.

If you like reading for enjoyment as well as for obtaining ideals that cause you to take pause and think about things that concern your life, these books are the creme de la creme.

I prefer the Fountainhead over Atlas but then that is damning with faint praise. Both books are preachy at the expense of character development and plotting. Characters are little more than cardboard props for mouthing Rand's philosophy which is more boring and useless than a Baptist preacher on a hot Sunday morning.

Still, The Fountainhead is often readable in places provided you don't take the moralizing seriously.

Atlas is excruciatingly boring without any redeeming literary or philosophical value.

I can however see why the gullible and the intellectually immature sing the praises of Atlas.

Gods are fragile things; they may be killed by a whiff of science or a dose of common sense.

I prefer the Fountainhead over Atlas but then that is damning with faint praise. Both books are preachy at the expense of character development and plotting. Characters are little more than cardboard props for mouthing Rand's philosophy which is more boring and useless than a Baptist preacher on a hot Sunday morning.

Still, The Fountainhead is often readable in places provided you don't take the moralizing seriously.

Atlas is excruciatingly boring without any redeeming literary or philosophical value.

I can however see why the gullible and the intellectually immature sing the praises of Atlas.

I actually agree with you about the characters and the promotion of Rand's philosophy. But isn't that pretty much the essence of all works of fiction? I also like The Fountainhead better. Could there be a better villain for Socialism then Elsworth Toohey?

Since you have read Atlas Shrugged, you really do owe it to yourself to read Atlas Snubbed. For some of the reasons you object to Atlas Shrugged, you will definitely enjoy the way Atlas Snubbed points out the fallabilities of the philosophical agenda of Atlas Shrugged.

Seriously, from what you have just written, I think you will enjoy and appreciate Atlas Snubbed. If possible, see if you can get the director's cut version. I don't think Amazon carries it. It may only be available through the author; http://www.atlassnubbed.com/estore.html

I actually agree with you about the characters and the promotion of Rand's philosophy. But isn't that pretty much the essence of all works of fiction?

Quality writers are not so obvious about it preferring to nuance to preaching.

I also like The Fountainhead better. Could there be a better villain for Socialism then Elsworth Toohey?

Rand's characters, with few exceptions, are sh!ts in one way or another. Toohey's erstaz socialism was no more than a means of serving his ego. This was indicated by a small encounter between Toohey and Roark. Toohey asks Roark "What do you think of me?" Roark replies "But I don't think of you Mr. Toohey."

Snappy bit of wit there. If only Rand had been able to sustain that level of wit, Atlas would have been less sermon and more of literary value,

Since you have read Atlas Shrugged, you really do owe it to yourself to read Atlas Snubbed.

Perhaps I will.

Gods are fragile things; they may be killed by a whiff of science or a dose of common sense.